Name: Netherlands ( Nederland) or Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Koninkrijk der Nederlanden )

The name means "lowlands".The people in Holland (another name for this country) are called the Dutch.In terms of size it's relatively small.

The country is wellknown for it's many rivers,canals and channels crisscrossing the land.Then there are many dikes and sanddunes protecting the land and it's people from flooding.

Capital: Amsterdam

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces; Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord - Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland.

Ethnic groups: Dutch, and others 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians.

Religions: Roman Catholic, Dutch Reformed, Calvinist, Muslim, and others.

Languages: Dutch (official), Frisian (official)

Coastline: 451 km

Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast

If you ever need to name a country which qualifies as the best example of liberalism, modernity and prosperity, Netherlands is the best suitable to mention. This ‘big’ small monarchy in the Northwest of Europe has much more than windmills, cheese, tulips and wooden shoes. Netherlands lies between North Sea, Belgium and Germany. The golden period of this country was during 17th century when Dutch Empire vastly expanded to New York, parts of India, forts along the African coast and some Indonesian colonies.

During its overseas expansion and industrial revolution in 19th century, some notable architecture became a part of the Netherlands’ cities. Amsterdam and Leiden possess some big baroque mansions of 17th century which belonged to rich merchants of the city—they were commanders of Dutch fleet. Painters and paintings have been the most famous assets of Netherlands. Dutch feel proud of their bunch of world famous painters like Rembrandt, van Gogh, Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer and their exclusive paintings.

Besides the glorious 17th century history, it features many other interesting things. First of all, the relaxed, open and international atmosphere invigorates the tourists to spend more time here.

Some excellent museums and great historical monuments are there in different cities.

Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Maastricht are some of the most visited cities in Netherlands. Rotterdam is worlds largest seaport. Destinations like Den Bosch ('s Hertogenbosch) and Arnhem and Zwolle, too, have a lot for you to see. And if love cycling, it may prove to be a exciting opportunity to explore the country on bicycle — Netherlands is Flat and adequately sized.

Dutch language started to take shape at the middle of the 5th century AD. The language spoken by the inhabitants of the Netherlands back then was called Old Dutch and it developed from Lower Franconian (Niederfränkisch), a dialect of Low German.

Middle Dutch was the language used during the 12th and the 15th century and since the year 1500 we can speak of Modern Dutch, a language very similar to Standard Dutch, the language currently used by the Dutch people. Standard Dutch is called "Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands" meaning "general civilized Dutch".

The name of the Dutch language comes from the word Dietsc / Duutsc (language of the people), as people used to call it in the Middle Ages.

Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname and other Dutch colonies, as well as in small parts of Germany and France. It has an official status in the Netherlands, Flanders, Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles and it manages to sum up around 23 million native speakers worldwide (15 million residing in the Netherlands).

Dutch used to be the official language of South Africa until 1961, contributing to the development of Afrikaans, one of the official languages of South Africa. Dutch has several dialects, the most important being Flemish, spoken in Flanders (Belgium). Compared to Standard Dutch, it uses older words and a softer pronunciation.

Like the other Germanic languages, Dutch uses the Latin alphabet. As a particularity, it contains the group of letters "3" that stands for the more common "y" which is used only in foreign words. Dutch language has three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) but they are quite often reduced to two (common and neuter). Cases are used mainly for pronouns, while common nouns and adjectives are not case inflected.

The Dutch vocabulary is predominantly of Germanic origin and it is one of the richest in the world, containing approximately 190,000 words.

Other particularities of the Dutch language are the extensive use of doubled letters (mostly due to the formation of compound words) and the devoicing of all consonants at the end of the words. Herengracht 605; By tram: 4,9,14,20; Open: Mon-Fri 10am- 5 pm, Sat & Sun 11am -5pm; Closed 1 Jan, 30 Apr, 25 Dec.

Holland certainly has a reputation with travelers. Known for having a very liberal attitude on social issues such as prostitution and drugs, the reputation is not always deserved. Yes, marijuana and prostitution is legal, but there is so much more to the country. Many look at Amsterdam as Holland, but visitors know there is much more. If you desire to travel to Holland, also known as the Netherlands, don’t miss these attractions.

Simply put, Amsterdam has something for everyone. The city is an incredibly beautiful collection of old world European architecture elegantly partitioned by canals. In truth, the city is built on roughly 90 small islands, although you can hardly tell. Transportation is best undertaken on foot or by bicycle.

With a cool climate, you’ll barely break a sweat.

Contrary to popular opinion, Amsterdam is not just a city of liberal policies. Yes, coffee bars sell things other then just coffee. Yes, there are women in windows that are awfully friendly. Still, there is so much more to experience in the city.

The Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh houses the world's largest collection of the work of Vincent van Gogh. From his early work, the museum contains 700 artistic works and 850 letters. After moving to Paris in 1886, van Gogh entered an impressionist period, of which the museum contains a large collection. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the collection is the organization. The entire collection is arranged chronologically from the first to last work. As you walk, you can clearly see the evolution of this master’s skill.

Who hasn’t read the intense diary of Anne Frank? Hiding from the Nazis, she and her family lived in an annexed section of an apartment in Amsterdam for two years. In 1957, the house was donated to the Anne Frank Foundation and turned into a museum. A visit will send chills through your spine. The museum contains films, the annexed area and the original notes of Anne Frank. A must see for anyone traveling to Amsterdam.

For those needing a break from Amsterdam, there is much to be seen in Holland. If you are looking for a color explosion, consider taking the bulb cycling tour out of Noordwijk. Windmills your thing? Head to the De Zaan district to see them in action. Prefer to spend a night in a castle? Try the Castle Hotel Engelenburg, which even lets you ruin a good walk by playing golf.

Travel to Holland and you won’t regret it. Whether you want to “investigate” the countries liberal policies or simply bike through fields of tulips, Holland will satisfy.